Conceptualising state-controlled resort islands for an environment-friendly development of tourism: The Maldivian experience

The Maldives host a sophisticated and competitive international tourist ind ustry which has replaced fishing as the dominant economic activity. With th eir rich tropical reef ecosystems and the abundant biodiversity of their ma rine environment, a total of 86 uninhabited islands had been converted into Resort Islands by the end of 2000. Resort Islands are equipped with compre hensive facilities for accommodation, food, recreation and leisure. They ar e also strictly reserved for foreign tourists and guarantee complete privac y. This gives the benefit of averting conflicts of acculturation with local islanders. In the arena of impacts on the physical environment, however, t he consumptive leisure lifestyle of the tourists has been harmful to the Re sort Islands as seen in sewage, garbage and waste pollution, as well as ree f destruction and beach erosion. While the government of the Maldives takes great effort to harmonise tourism and the environment, the growth of mass tourism in the last 20 years has engendered grave environmental impacts. Fo r future sustainable development of the Resort Islands, the tourists' envir onmental awareness must be increased to promote greater responsibility for the protection of the fragile coral and reef ecosystems of the Maldives.